Strawberry residents spur housing rebellion

Strawberry residents are up in arms, flaying Civic Center officials for failing to withdraw the community from a controversial housing zone.

At issue is the "priority development area" program pressed by regional government and endorsed by county officials for areas along Highway 101.

The Board of Supervisors, bowing to community furor, zapped the zone in Marinwood and Tamalpais Valley several weeks ago, but is reluctant to follow suit in Strawberry, infuriating residents because officials won't schedule the matter for review. "The Strawberry community did not volunteer for this designation and does not support it," said Staci Simonton of Belvedere Drive, who cited mounting opposition to the zone as reflected at www.savestrawberry.org out of fear it will result in high-density housing.

"There was no stakeholder participation before the designation and now the stakeholders are indeed participating with a resounding opposition," she said.

A packed house is expected at the Strawberry Recreation Center at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, when residents convene to talk about housing plans.

"I am aware of close to 1,000 people in the Strawberry community that want the PDA designation promptly removed," said Riley Hurd III, an attorney for the Strawberry residents. "I am aware of zero that do not."

Supervisor Judy Arnold, who as board president presides over the agenda, says the matter won't be listed for consideration until district Supervisor Kate Sears authorizes the move.

"After consulting with Supervisor Sears, the issue you have requested will not be agendized on the board calendar at this time," Arnold told Simonton in an email. "Supervisor Sears will be scheduling a series of meetings in Strawberry in August."

Sears, facing the biggest political flap she has encountered in two years on the board, indicated there is no need to hurry. "I'm not precluding doing that but I don't think there is a rush to make this an agenda item," Sears said. "I do believe we would all benefit from more community conversation."

More conversation could calm what she called "needless alarm" that has swept the community. A priority development area does not change local zoning, she noted.

"Similarly, if the PDA were to be removed, the existing zoning and development potential on mixed-use sites in Strawberry and the Golden Gate Baptist Seminary property would not change," she added. In fact, existing single-family neighborhoods in the PDA, or within a half mile of Highway 101, "will remain single-family residential under the county's existing zoning rules," she said. "There is absolutely no plan to rezone traditional single-family neighborhoods to higher density attached housing."

The designation makes the region eligible for more state transportation dollars, since only half of regional funds are available for projects in non-PDA areas. The issue "has particular implications" for Strawberry in light of the need to improve the Tiburon Boulevard "wye" and infrastructure near Strawberry Point School, Sears said.

"Without full access to transportation dollars, it is hard to see how these projects could be pursued," she said.

The bottom line, according to Sears: "It is important that everyone take the time to learn, listen and discuss what's really on the table before believing the nightmare scenarios some are spinning."

Sears, in a flyer distributed Friday, called the agenda issue "the question of the moment" but said there is no deadline for action. Updated county housing policies, including a county affordable housing zone that does not change existing densities, comes up for review Sept. 12.

Hurd called PDAs "a clear policy statement" targeting neighborhoods for concentrated development. And in light of development plans percolating at the Baptist seminary, "the concern is the placement of high-density housing units directly adjacent to the single-family homes, at the end of our residential streets and throughout the commercial and multifamily parcels throughout Strawberry and the open space owned by the seminary," Simonton said.

"Over 500 residents signed the petition to the Board of Supervisors to remove Strawberry from the PDA," and showed up en mass July 9, but only Marinwood and Tam Valley were listed on the agenda, so officials said they could not act on the Strawberry request then, she noted.

"Living room" meetings planned by Sears this month should be no reason for delay, she added. "Any such meetings Sears now wants should have happened before" Strawberry was put in the zone, she said.

"If you want constructive, problem-solving dialogue with constituents who trust you all and trust the process, put us on the agenda now, get us out of the PDA, and then let's all work together," Simonton told Arnold in an email exchange.

Talk about transportation funding is baloney, Simonton added. "Even if that were true, the cost is far too high," she said. Richard Harris of Richardson Drive, who said many support affordable housing but oppose high density "social engineering," agreed that concern about transit funding is misplaced.

Marc Lieberman of Belvedere Drive, noting supervisors pressed a recent move to run shuttle buses up Belvedere Drive despite wide opposition and a "very reasonable alternative called Tiburon Drive," said it is "obvious what is going on ... they need to show a robust transportation infrastructure to get the PDA done (and) get the money."

Sears, he added, may be vulnerable. "There is a burgeoning faction that wants to start a recall on Sears," he said. "She's that imprevious to reason."

Marty Schneckenberger of Meda Lane said the community has been bombarded with "political babble," and Julie Brown of Ricardo Road said the people's right to know has been trashed.

"It's an egregious lack of process," Brown said of business at the Civic Center. Residents who were not informed about land-use designations involving their neighborhoods show up to protest but no one listens.